Friday, March 15, 2013

A press office staffer for Vice President Joe Biden forced a credentialed reporter from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism to delete photos taken Tuesday at an event in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Rockville, Md.

Vice President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Kendra Barkoff, has since apologized for the thuggery.

…

The reporter, Jeremy Barr, showed up to cover an event related to domestic violence. Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin were on hand.

The trouble began when he unintentionally took a seat in an area that wasn’t specifically designated for members of the press.

“I didn’t see any demarcation that would have designated a press entrance versus a general entrance,” Barr told Capital News Service.

Once the event started, Barr said, he snapped a few photos of each speaker.

“People a few rows in front of me were also taking photos,” he added.

When the event ended, Biden press staffer Dana Rosenzweig questioned Barr about his photos, according to the New York Daily News.

“She said, ‘I need to see your camera right now,’” Barr told CNS.

“I assumed that I’d violated a protocol,” the student reporter added. “I gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was following proper procedures.”

Rosenzweig’s rationale was that Barr’s presence in an area of the crowd that wasn’t designated specifically for the press gave him an “unfair advantage” over other nearby media representatives at the event.

It’s unclear what this advantage could have been.

Biden’s staffer then made Barr delete all the photos from his camera. She watched him the whole time to make sure he obeyed. She also scrutinized his iPhone to confirm that he didn’t save any photos.

Rosenzweig wasn’t done violating Barr’s rights just yet. She told him to wait while she found her boss. After about 10 minutes, the staffer told Barr she was terribly sorry, and allowed him to leave.